Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - 6-year-old Maddox Ritch's body found, cops say investigation NOT OVER ; PLUS: mommy blogger charged in tot's death

Episode Date: September 28, 2018

Six days after Maddox Ritch disappeared during a walk in a North Carolina park with his father, searchers found the 6-year-old's body a mile away in a creek. Nancy Grace updates the case with death scene investigator Joseph Scott Morgan, private investigator Vincent Hill, and North Carolina family lawyer Kathleen Murphy. A woman whose hobby is blogging about raising her young daughter has been charged in connection with the death of her boyfriend's child. Police accuse Alexandra Ciliento of injuring the toddler before calling 911 to report the child was not breathing. Lawyer and psychologist Dr. Brian Russell, medical examiner Dr. Michelle Dupre, and DailyMail.com's Sean Walsh join Nancy. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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the new network for crime. I'm Rob Pelton, chief of police, and I'm heartbroken. Our community's heartbroken, our searchers, our investigators. This is not the end that we had hoped for. Maddox Rich, a beautiful young man, blonde hair, blue eyes, out walking this past Saturday with his dad, walking around the lake, looking at turtles,

doing the things that a young man would do. And this is not the end that we'd hoped for. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us. The search for little Maddox has not turned out the way we had prayed, but the search has ended with a discovery of Maddox's body. Listen. The chief and I saw Maddox, and it is absolutely amazing that he was found. And for anyone who doesn't have an understanding of just how difficult what we have asked the search and rescue efforts to do is, I don't know there's a way for you to understand, but it was extremely difficult to see him even when we were standing right next to him. But yet, even though the body

of six-year-old Maddox has been found, officials insisting, quote, the investigation is not over. For those of you just joining us, six-year-old little Maddox goes for a walk with his dad and his dad's girlfriend in Rankin Park, North Carolina. The father says he got ahead of him. Maddox got ahead of him. And then when he tried to find him, he couldn't. So many questions this morning, but let's first start with the discovery of the body, the body of this beautiful little boy. Authorities have gone so far as to pipe out, play out the sound of Maddox's parents calling for him.

Maddox, autistic and nonverbal, in the hopes that he would come from his hiding place in the woods in that huge, huge, densely wooded park. That was not to be joining me. Cop turned private. I Vincent Hill there in the jurisdiction. Kathleen Murphy, North Carolina family lawyer and forensics expert, professor of forensics, author of Blood Beneath My Feet, Joseph Scott Morgan. So Scott, I want to start with the discovery of Maddox's body. Hey, I got to tell you, Nancy, it is, the body is found in a densely, densely covered area. I'm thinking the way they're describing it, Nancy, is that it sounds as though it's like low brush and it's covering a little waterway, a little creek that's immediately adjacent to this big lake that's a big recreational area. The reports that we're hearing right now

is that the police had searched this area, specifically this area, and had not seen him. As you heard in the earlier clip, they were saying that they had been in a specific area, had not seen him, and that they were very fortunate to find him this time. Unfortunate is kind of a dubious word there. But he was found submerged, they're saying, in two to three feet of water. Well, hold on. I don't understand something. When you're saying they hadn't seen him, the way I was envisioning it is that he was deep under the pond and there was no way they could have seen him. Yeah.

And that's the striking thing. You know, and he's the only thing I can really think of is that they've been you know, they've had that whole area covered with drones. They've had dogs in here, of course. They even deployed a SWAT team to wander through this area and just see what they could what they could turn up. And no one was able to see this child at this point in time. As a forensics guy, when I begin to hear this sort of thing, as gruesome as it is, one of the things I begin to think about is that potentially decomposition had begun to set in and he has essentially kind of floated to the top,

whereas he wasn't seen before. That's really the only thing I can think of. Right, and that does make sense. If anyone is suggesting that Maddox's body was not there at the beginning of the search and ended up there through a nefarious path, I don't believe that's forensically possible. The whole part was covered with people searching for Maddox. There's no way, I don't think, that it's feasible for the body to have been planted in the water after the search started. I'm not thinking that either, Nancy. They've had this

thing locked down. You could, I mean, and if you just go back to the news conference, this guy was just busting with emotion, this poor fellow that's having to lead this search. And I can tell you, they had eyes on all over this place. They were covering every shot and till. You know, Vincent Hill, private investigator, when Joe Scott Morgan said that due to decomposition, your body, as it decomposes, becomes full of gases. Like, if you think of a piece of fruit, okay, those gases are trapped inside your body, and your body will float up. Hold on, I'm about to take a call from fruit. Okay. Those gases are trapped inside your body and your body will float up.

Hold on. I'm about to take a call from Leslie in Pittsburgh, but Vincent Hill, you have a theory regarding the body. Yeah, Nancy. One of the things that strikes me as odd is one of the investigators said that the body could not have drifted from the park to where it was found because there's barriers in between there for that exact reason. So the question becomes exactly how and more importantly, when did Maddox's body get to where it was found? Now, we've always assumed that he was out on this walk with his dad. But strikingly, again, we still have not yet heard from people inside that park to say, yes, I saw him running. I saw the dad. I saw the dad chasing him. So there's still so many questions, Nancy. Okay, hold on. That's a couple of different, different thoughts right there.

And the one I want to zero in on is you saying, Vincent Hill, that from where he was last seen, he could not have gotten to this body of water? According to investigators, they say there are barriers in the park, the lake in the park, to prevent things from floating out into these creeks. So it would be almost impossible for Maddox to have gotten into that body of water at the park and ended up where he was. Well, Kathleen Murphy, joining us there in North Carolina, you have poured over the aerial shots. Could you explain to our listeners what is Vincent Hill saying? Vincent Hill is always right. And I'm looking at the map and the reality of it is is to get to the rankin park you have to cross a highway highway 321 and go through all of these

businesses i think it's highway 321 the body was found across the major map road to the east of the park. And if I'm looking at this map, it was a mile, perhaps, from the park. I could be wrong about that. But it's on a major, it's off of a major road on the other side of the park. There's no way. There's no way. There's no way. We are taking your call straight out to Leslie in Pittsburgh. Hi, Leslie.

You know, Leslie, I've covered so many cases, and I've tried so many cases in court, and I remember, Leslie, when I would get a verdict from the jury of guilty, people think that you celebrate, that you go out and pop the champagne. It's not like that. I was always just exhausted and relieved. One more bad guy was put away. And that's kind of how I feel right now.

I'm glad there are answers and the search is over, but I'm just exhausted and just worn down with worrying and thinking about Maddox and his parents. And I know that they are just torn in half with this discovery. Leslie in Pittsburgh, weigh in. Yeah, I first of all can't even imagine. And obviously it's not the news we're all hoping for. It's devastating to hear that. I really am curious what you think. You kind of already touched on the location of the body and how it probably wouldn't have been planted there later. But if there was foul play, what does the location of the body suggest? Would it be a quick crime of opportunity? It seems like

if the father was involved, he probably wouldn't have hidden him, you know, so close to where they were searching, or what do you think about that? Well, I think that under the scenario of the father looking for him and him last being seen in the park, it would only make sense to have the body there if there was a nefarious intent on this. Of course, it could have always, if you wanted to kill a child, I assume you could have killed the child and pretended that someone had kidnapped him and taken them out of the park. But your thought about a crime of opportunity, yes. And I'll go back to a case we are all familiar with, Robert Blake. He, according to prosecutors and a civil jury, kills Bonnie Lee Bakley, his wife, the mother of his child, Rosie. And it's a crime of opportunity. And he dumps the murder weapon

right there. Of course, he has it planned, but he can't get rid of the murder weapon. Okay. So it has to be put in the dumpster you remember that leslie i do okay so here if it was planned but it had to be carried out in a certain way the body would have been disposed of right there but there is no suggestion at this point that the father or the girlfriend had anything at all to do with the child's death. Right now, we are still waiting on a cause of death of baby Maddox, but right now, take a listen to this. We will not take anything for granted. So there's a lot of work. There's a lot of people that have lost a lot of sleep and are committed to continuing to making sure that we answer every

question that we can about where Maddox was, how his movement occurred, and how it was that he ended up where he did. And that means, as you've heard us ask many times, that we still want to hear from the people who were in the park that day. Gaston County 911, 599. What is the address of your emergency? Yes, ma'am. We're at Rankin Lake Park, Gastonia. And we've got a missing kid. He's missing. He's been missing probably the last 30, 40 minutes, hour maybe. What's the address?

Oh, God. 1750 Rankin Laked. You said for 30 to 40 minutes. It's almost almost an hour now. We searched everywhere. Are you an employee? Is the parents there? Yeah, they're here. They're out looking for him. What's the child's name? Dad, I forgot.

I don't know. He had to show me the license. I forgot the kid's name. Black, white, or Hispanic? I'm sorry? Is the child black, white, or Hispanic? Oh, he's white. I'm sorry, white.

White male? Yes. Okay. Can you give me a description of what the little boy was wearing? I think it was blonde hair. Blonde hair you said? Blonde hair, orange shirt, I think the shirt said, I'm the man or something like that, and he had black shorts.

Where was the last place they seen him at in the park? They seen him right by the pier and the set of trees over here on the other end. Last seen him near the pier and the trees? Yes. Okay and I need to know his name. Is the parents nearby or somebody near that you can talk to? Give me one second. Hold on. I'm sorry I don't know the kid's name. Okay. There's our out here looking. You were hearing park employee Rick Fox as he calls in to 911 the disappearance of Maddox. Little Maddox, just six years old.

Maddox Rich allegedly runs away from his dad in a park, and the dad says he couldn't catch him. In the last hours, the search comes to an end and not the way that we wished. Take a listen. The investigation is not over and you should not take away anything from that except to understand that in law enforcement, we will not take anything for granted. So there's a lot of work and there's a lot of people that have lost a lot of sleep and are committed to continuing to making sure that we answer every question that we can about where Maddox was, how his movement occurred, and how it was that he ended up where he did. Investigators in North Carolina say they believe that they have found the body of missing six-year-old little boy

Maddox Rich in a shallow creek and it is near the area where he was reported missing, and that was last Saturday. Now, according to his dad, Maddox ran away in a park, and he couldn't catch him, but right now, the possible last witness is being sought. Who is that witness? Now, the dad said he had to run around people in the park. Where are those people? Where are those people? More than 300 investigators spent nearly a week pouring over hundreds of leads, searching acre after acre after acre, thousands of acres for the six-year-old. Of course, this is not the conclusion that anyone wanted.

I find it really interesting, and this is out to you, Vincent Hill, cop turned PI, that the guy who called 911 doesn't believe Max was ever at the park and that the dad did not act concerned. And why did they try to cover up that the dad was with his girlfriend? Yeah, Nancy, you definitely have to question that because the dad referred to his girlfriend as a friend. And I always question why the dad didn't call 911 after 45 minutes, close to an hour. You have this park worker calling 911 who says the dad did not seem to concern that little Maddox was missing. You still have to question

that. And again, where are all these witnesses that were supposedly in this park, Nancy? In a very long Facebook post just last night, Maddox's dad, Ian, thanked investigators, and I'm quoting what he said, Today I found out I'm not a dad anymore. I would give anything to go back and save him. That is heartbreaking. Heartbreaking. To Joe Scott Morgan,

forensics professor at Jacksonville State University and author of Blood Beneath My Feet, Death Investigator, when you look at a body, when you perform the autopsy, how is it that pathologists can tell the difference between someone that was drowned versus someone that was asphyxiated? when the internal examination is done relative to drowning to see because if if the lungs Nancy are containing or effused with water that means the individual was breathing or inhalating when they went under and began to take in water now if you're talking about an asphyxial death one of the things that

we would look for would be signs of trauma around the neck, and even in cases of smothering where someone places their hand over somebody's mouth, we can see some trauma in the mouth relative to that, but there's one thing that we're not thinking about here. Water is also a modality of intentional asphyxiation where an individual can be held beneath the surface of the water. So all of those factors have to be taken into account relative to that. Now, if an individual is struggling against someone holding them underwater, then that would mean that we would look for other trauma on the body

and also on the body or on the person of the individual that might be a suspect. But this child wasn't found at the park either. This child was nowhere even remotely close to the Rankin Lake Park. He was across Highway 321 when they found his body. Okay, see, when you're saying that to the listeners, what does that mean though, Kathleen? It means that a little six-year-old boy, if he was wandering around, Vincent said there were no stop, there were stop gaps in place to prevent the body floating to where it would be found, correct? So if this child was in the location where he was found, he would have had to walk across a major highway, Highway 321, past all of these businesses that were out there to be in the location where he was found.

Needless to say, the investigation is going on. The mother and father, heartbroken. The baby's body has been found in a waterway there at Rankin Park. No suggestion of foul play has emerged at this time. And for now, I think what we should be doing is praying for Maddox and for his family. The two-year-old from Grand Island, whom investigators allege was injured by a woman caring for that child earlier this month, has died. The girl had been in the intensive care unit at Oshai Children's Hospital for 12 days before she succumbed to her injuries.

Savage revealed that Valenti, whom is described as an acquaintance of the girl's father, told police she believed the child had some sort of allergic reaction, which caused her to have difficulty breathing. And we were then notified by the hospital that there appeared that there may have been some type of injuries inflicted on the child and that's when our detectives went over there and that's when the investigation began. You are hearing our friend reporter Dave McKinley at WGRZ and the Erie County Sheriff's Captain Greg Savage, a mommy blogger who describes parenting as a, quote, blessing, is now suspected in the shaking death of her boyfriend's two-year-old little girl. Her name, Brianna Valenti of Grand Island.

What this would be, if it's true, is a victim, a child victim of shaken baby syndrome. And we're going to be joined by pathologist Dr. Michelle Dupree on what that means. The problem with shaken baby syndrome is you look at the baby and you don't see anything wrong. It is a closed head injury. Like when you fall down the steps, you have a blow to the head and you can't see on the outside what's wrong, but very slowly the brain is swelling and the child dies. Joining me, Dr. Brian Russell, host of the hit series, Fatal Vows. Dr. Michelle Dupree, pathologist, medical examiner. Vincent Hill, cop turned PI, Kathleen Murphy, North Carolina family lawyer, and special guest joining me right now from DailyMail.com and DailyMailTV, Sean Walsh.

Mommy blogger. Exactly what is a mommy blogger? Because when I was working and raising the twins in their infancy, I would literally see stars. I was so tired. Sean, you have time to blog about the mommy experience is that what that is it is but i if i had suggested to my wife to be a mommy blogger when she was home with both of my boys i think she would have beaten me to death with a bottle

of baby's milk because there was no time man you're not kidding and really forget about it if you're pumping breast milk and adding it in there, oh, yeah, I'd fall asleep during that process. I was so tired. But that's a whole other can of worms. Mommy blogger shakes baby dead. Start at the beginning, please, Sean. And, Nancy, I'll give you the mommy blogger thing. According to her Facebook page, Ms. Valenti enjoys writing about her experiences as a mother.

But, I mean, her blog was called Weird, Wicked, and Wild, and she was listed as its head parenting blogger where she'd talk about her experiences raising her daughter. But, I mean, the blog title... Okay, wait, right there. That's just putting my teeth on edge. This is a very, very sad case. Ms. Valenti of Grand Island in New York,

she faces numerous charges in connection to the death of Raylene Rose Fuller, aged two, including reckless assault of a child. Wait a minute. Don't just rattle it off like that. Sean, have you seen the picture of Raylene Rose? She's a beautiful little girl. I mean, she's got on this little pink sundress. Look at this, Jackie.

And she's sitting on, it looks like a big pink futon. And she's got a little pink headband with a little pink bow on it. She's all decked out, perfectly matching with a cute little smile on her face. She's got a little front two teeth in. I remember I tried to put a headband like that on Lucy. That lasts about 20 seconds anyway my point is somebody spent a lot of time getting this little girl totally dressed up totally this precious so let's just not rush through the facts Raylan Rose Fuller and she was two years old okay now go ahead Sean a beautiful little baby like beautiful little baby, Nancy. So apparently Ms. Valenti had been looking after little Raylan Rose that day, along with her own daughter, a five-year-old, when the alleged assault unfolded. She reportedly called her

boyfriend saying that his daughter had passed out and was having trouble breathing. Paramedics were called and the little girl was rushed to the children's hospital with injuries resulting in her being unresponsive, police said. She was admitted to the intensive care unit and deputies with the Erie County Sheriff's Office were contacted by the Erie County Child Protective Services soon afterwards. On September 11, authorities arrested Valenti and charged her that she's still being held at the Erie County Holding Centre. Police would not say she's still being held at the Erie County Holding Center. Police would not say she'll face further charges following the death of Fuller's daughter on Saturday. You know, I'm looking and apparently she has given a statement on her blog, which will make prosecutors dance in glee.

I really do not know where to start with this right now. I am in shock. I am horrified. I feel sick. It is incredibly difficult for me. That seems to be all about her. To Dr. Michelle Dupree, before I go back to Sean, explain the shaken baby syndrome, please. Well, Nancy, shaken baby syndrome occurs when a baby is shaken forcibly. Their neck muscles and their head don't develop until sometime later.

What happens is the head, the brain, bounces back and forth between the skull, causing coup and counter coup injuries. It can even cause bruising. It can cause brain swelling. It can even cause death. It can certainly cause impairment, lifelong impairment. So, Sean Walsh, let me understand, this was her boyfriend's child, correct? That's correct, Nancy. And she was looking after her boyfriend's child as well as her own daughter that day. So something has happened, Nancy, in that house that has resulted in this. And that's why I find that statement on the blog extraordinary, that wouldn't it be about how tragic it is what happened to that baby, not what's happening to you?

Yeah, that impressed me at the very beginning, that it was not about the baby. It was about the blog. I want to understand how they're saying it was an allergic reaction. Is that what they first said when they went to the hospital? There'd been some reaction in that the child had passed out and she didn't know what had gone on. But when further investigations were done, this is when it came up that it looks like this is shaken baby syndrome. Wow. The baby dies in the hospital and they said that she apparently couldn't breathe. Dr. Michelle Dupree, if the

father saw the baby not being able to breathe, he may have thought it was an allergic reaction. Nancy, that's true. I guess the concerning point here is, you know, has she been allergic to something else? Where, there's probably bruises on her arms from being held and shaking. There are all kinds of questions here that must be answered. Take a listen to our friends at WKBW. This is Allie Tuohy. Always happy and so loving. That's how Cody Fuller is remembering his daughter, Raelynn Rose. Fuller had custody of the toddler and he says he was at work back on September 10th when all of

this unfolded. His girlfriend, Brianna Valenti, was watching Raelynn and her own five-year-old daughter when Fuller says she called him saying Raelynn was having trouble breathing. He says he later learned from doctors that they believe Raelynn had been shaken and that's what caused her injuries. Prior to Raelynn's death, Valenti faced several felonies, including reckless assault and a misdemeanor child endangerment charge. It's unclear whether investigators will increase those charges.

Fuller tells me he'd like her charged with his daughter's death. He says he hasn't spoken with Valenti since her arrest. The sheriff's office alleges 26-year-old Brianna Valenti assaulted the child on September 10th. Valenti was already jailed after her arraignment on charges of assault and held on $150,000 bail. Now charges may be upgraded, possibly to murder. It comes down to evidentiary questions within the case. What exactly did she do or not do? What exactly are the baby's injuries and what was her intent? And more investigation.

We're still interviewing people who may have information. We've gotten some phone calls from some different people who are familiar with the case, giving us information. And we're trying to sort through all that and make sure that we do everything properly because it's a very serious case. We are talking about a little girl now dead, just two years old. She was in the care of her father's girlfriend, a mommy blogger who describes being a parent as a blessing. Out to Kathleen Murphy, North Carolina family lawyer. You were bringing up the case of Lucas Hernandez. Why? There's so many similarities. And Nancy, I have to put this out there to all your listeners. If you're a single parent, don't leave your children with your significant

other, even if you think you can trust them, because this is happening over and over again. And if I represented the mother in this case who didn't have custody, I would certainly have asked on a regular basis for the court not to allow third parties whom the person is romantically involved with to be a primary caregiver of the children. We understand that funeral arrangements are being made for the child, but they are private. I'm looking at Valenti's bio, Brianna Valenti, the mommy blogger. She encourages readers to reach out to her and says, if you need advice to laugh or someone who understands what you're going through,

call me. Well, I don't understand what you're going through. What does that mean? Like it's a bad thing, raising children? Yes, it's exhausting. I mean, Sean Walsh, you have two children. Dr. Brian Russell, I'm waiting on you to have children. Could you get busy?

Sean Walsh, it's exhausting. That's true, but I'm not quite sure what she means by that, Sean. Nancy, I don't know what she means by it either. I don't understand. It is exhausting, and having kids is the toughest job that any parent will ever have. But here's where I'm always stunned by this, is that I know when my children have a friend over for a sleepover, you have like an extra layer of protection to make sure that those children are safe and that they have a good time and they go back to their parents just as they were dropped off at your home. This is what I'll never understand with how people who are related to a child that have them in their care can hurt them. I'll never understand that, Nancy. You know, online, Valenti writes glowingly of her

relationship with the baby, her boyfriend's daughter, and her own five-year-old girl. Quote, it's a blessing to wake up every day to little feet running down the hallway yelling good morning. Valenti writes, even if the day does start as you waking up to her messing with her little sister in her crib, patience is a virtue, parents. Life doesn't get easier. We just get better at handling it. Now, I don't know what that means. I'm trying to decipher and apply logic to an illogical situation.

Now, we know that she is the one that called 911. Take a listen to our friends at WIVB-TV. This is Shannon Smith. Captain Greg Savage with the Erie County Sheriff's Office says Valenti was the one who called 911 around 4 p.m. September 10th on Grand Island. That the child, she had an unresponsive baby suffering from a possible allergic reaction. Savage says the toddler was taken to Oshai Children's Hospital after she reportedly had trouble breathing and passed out. They say the child suffered injuries that led to her being unresponsive. It's not clear what those injuries were.

We were then notified by the hospital that there appeared that there may have been some type of injuries inflicted on the child. And that's when our detectives went over there and that's when the investigation began. So to you, Sean Welch, where does it stand now? Well, investigations continue. She is currently being held and we wait to see what happens. But I think it's going to be over the next couple of months we'll work out if, in fact, this was shaken baby when we hear what evidence is provided. But it sounds that way.

And how would that be proved or disproved, Dr. Michelle Dupree? Well, basically, you would look for signs where the person had been holding the child, such as bruises around the shoulders. You can also look at the swelling in the brain. It is a diagnosis to approve, but you would look at things like that under the microscope. You know, to Vincent Hill, cop turned private investigator, how do you go about proving this? Because it's a circumstantial case, Vincent. Yeah, Nancy, it's all circumstantial, but I think the autopsy will be able to tell. Listen, I responded to a call where the baby was unresponsive. There's no

visible signs that you can see off the bat, but once that autopsy is done, they will be able to spot out that brain injury that is consistent with shaken baby syndrome. Well, I guess the point I'm making is that, yes, they may be able to tell the cause of death, but how do they know who did it? Who's the last person in the house other than the mommy blogger? Had the father been there? Had a neighbor been there? Had somebody else babysat the baby? How do you go about proving those details? Back to you, Dr. Michelle Dupree, what about a time interval in showing when the incident occurred? Can you place the time of the shaking? Nancy, that is always a significant

question, and oftentimes that's difficult to do, but typically we can piece together a time frame from when the baby died, approximate time of death, and who was with the child at that point in time, but it is difficult. To Dr. Brian Russell, so how do you pick a partner? You've got somebody that seems perfectly normal, just like in Lucas Hernandez. Emily Glass seemed perfectly normal to the father. And then you find out they've mistreated your child. What do you look for? Well, my advice is for single parents of minor children, single or divorced parents of minor children that your children don't meet anyone who is a significant other,

a dating partner of yours until they're 18 plus years old. And I know people are shocked by that. And they're going, I'm supposed to not have a love life until my kids are 18. Yeah, that's right. Because in my entire career, the, yeah, of course, most step parents are, or step parent figures, significant others of parents are not going to come in and murder the kid. But in my career, the percentage of the time that that happens is about the same as the percentage of the time that the step figure comes in and is a real big, huge benefit to that child. The vast majority of the time, what I see is transient, significant others of the parents coming in, coming out of the kids' lives, making attachments, breaking attachments, getting the kids excited and then disappointed, or

complicating the kids' lives because they don't like them, but the parent does. And so most of the time, it just becomes this mess that doesn't do any good for the kids. lives because they don't like them, but the parent does. And so most of the time, it just becomes this mess that doesn't do any good for the kids. And I'm sorry, but once you become a parent, every decision that you make has to be primarily about what is in the best interest of my children. And yeah, that might mean putting off your own love life. If your kids go back and forth between your house and the other parent's house and you want to date somebody while your kids are not with you, knock yourself out. But when they're there, you ought to not be splitting their time between you and

anybody else, in my never-to-be-humble professional opinion. Can I weigh in here, Nancy? I couldn't agree more. And I mean, people are required to have a license to have a pet, yet anyone can go and have a child. Your children have to be your first responsibility. I couldn't agree more. I think the key word, Nancy, is transient. If the step parents are not actually married, parents are not married, and there's drama, and there's a lot of transient in those relationships, those are not good, but step-parents can be wonderful addition to children's lives. And it's just a matter of, is that person who's bringing that other parent into the home a transient decision-maker who's not legitimately thinking through all of these aspects before somebody else comes into the relationship?

Step-parents can be wonderful additions to children's lives somebody else comes into the relationship. Step-parents can be wonderful additions to children's lives about 1% of the time. And so those odds are not in anybody's favor. If you got a 99% chance of doing something that's going to screw up your kid and a 1% chance of doing something that's going to help them, you err on the side of not doing it. Right now, Brianna Valenti, mommy blogger, being held on a $150,000 bond as we wait to determine whether charges will be increased. Nancy Grace, Crime Stories, signing off. Goodbye, friend.

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